How the CIA uses viral recruiting videos to reach spies in China, North Korea and Iran

After a similarly successful campaign to recruit Russians, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) launched a new campaign to recruit potential spies in China, Iran and North Korea.

The CIA released instructions in Mandarin, Korean and Farsi on Wednesday so that people in those countries can “safely” contact the agency.

Encouraged by the success of similar campaigns in Russia, CIA officials are trying to reach out to dissatisfied individuals amid China's increasing cooperation with Russia and Iran.

Open image in gallery

The organization said it has been active on social media channels such as Telegram, Facebook,

“We want to ensure that individuals in other authoritarian regimes know that we are open for business,” a CIA spokesman said in a statement.

The CIA spread similar Russian-language messages after Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Open image in gallery

China, Russia, North Korea and Iran are considered “hard target” countries where governments have made it difficult for other nations to penetrate to gain insights into their operations or access other intelligence information.

These nations block access to U.S. social media platforms like Facebook, deeming them unfavorable to the government. However, VPNs and other tools are designed to circumvent this censorship and surveillance. In the past, this has sometimes resulted in individuals becoming targets of the authorities.

The CIA shared instructions in its viral videos on how informants can contact U.S. intelligence officials without putting themselves in danger.

It urged people to use the dark web, a part of the Internet that can only be accessed with special tools designed to hide the user's identity.

Tips presented in text-only videos and infographics include using virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass internet restrictions and surveillance, and using a device that cannot be easily traced back to the user.

Open image in gallery

The CIA also urged potential informants to use private web browsers and delete their Internet history to cover their tracks.

A Mandarin-language video posted on YouTube that contained only written instructions urged individuals to contact the CIA through its official website using trusted encrypted VPNs or the TOR network.

“Your safety and well-being are our top priority,” it said. Names, locations and contact details of people who could not be linked to their actual identities, as well as information that might be of interest to the CIA, were requested. It was noted that responses were not guaranteed and could take some time.

“People from around the world are trying to contact us and we are offering them instructions on how to do so safely,” the agency said in a statement.

“There are many people who have access to information and are dissatisfied with the Xi regime in China,” David Cohen, deputy director of the CIA, told Bloomberg.

“There are people who see what is happening and who, for many different reasons, fundamentally dislike the direction Xi is taking the country in and understand that there is a way to help their own country by working with us work together,” he added.

China has objected to the move, calling it “an organized and systematic” disinformation campaign by Washington against China.

Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy, ​​said: “Any attempt to drive a wedge between the Chinese people and the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) or weaken their close bond will inevitably fail.”